Brewers 6, Pirates 1
MILWAUKEE -- Khris Davis' two-run double made a winner out of right-hander Taylor Jungmann, who struck out five over seven innings as the Milwaukee Brewers completed a sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday with a 6-1 victory at Miller Park.
Making the eighth start of his career, Jungmann (5-1) walked three and gave up five hits. His only earned run of the day was more a product of bad luck than anything else.
Left fielder Jaff Decker's fly ball to the track in center bounced off the glove of Carlos Gomez, allowing Decker to reach on a triple.
He scored when starting pitcher Jeff Locke dribble a single into left, giving the Pirates a 1-0 lead.
Locke (5-6), too, looked good for most of the day. He allowed only five hits through his first six innings, but walked Gomez to open the seventh, then gave up a one-out single to third baseman Aramis Ramirez.
That brought up Davis, who sent Locke's first offering back up the middle, driving in Gomez and Ramirez to give Milwaukee the lead.
Right-hander Jeremy Jeffress struck out the last two batters to strand the tying run at second in the eighth and Milwaukee added a four insurance runs in the bottom of the inning on a pair of errors and a pinch-hit double by Shane Peterson.
One of those was charged to Locke, who finished the day with three runs on eight hits and a walk while striking out three.
The Pirates had to make an adjustment early when shortstop Jordy Mercer suffered a leg injury while making a tag on Gomez.
Playing a shift against first baseman Adam Lind, Mercer fielded the ball to the right of second base and instead of flipping to second baseman Neil Walker, tried to put the tag on Gomez, who went into his slide early and took out Mercer.
Mercer was carted off the field but his status was uncertain. He is heading back to Pittsburgh for evaluation, according to Pirates manager Clint Hurdle.
NOTES: Pirates CF Andrew McCutchen got the day off Sunday. ... Pittsburgh placed OF Gorkys Hernandez on the 15-day disabled list (retroactive to July 13) with left shoulder discomfort. To fill the roster spot, the Pirates recalled RHP Wilfredo Boscan from Triple-A Indianapolis. This is Boscan's third stint with the team this season, but he has yet to make an appearance. ... Milwaukee earned its first home sweep since July 21-23, 2014, when the Brewers took three in a row from the Reds. ... The Brewers won a season-high four consecutive games at Miller Park but still have baseball's worst home record at 19-28 this season. ... These two teams will play two more series this season, in a three-game series at Miller Park from Sept. 1-3 and four games at PNC Park in Pittsburgh from Sept. 10-13.